TORONTO – The Canadian dollar made strides against the U.S. greenback Monday after Canada’s central banker warned over the weekend of inflationary concerns, suggesting interest rates may not be on hold much past a spring federal election.

The loonie gained 0.48 of a cent to 102.34 cents US although the U.S. dollar remained well-supported by signs the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates sooner than anticipated.

The loonie’s rise came even as commodity prices backed off. Oil prices fell $1.39 to US$104.01 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The April gold contract fell $12.30 to US$1,413.90, while the May copper contract lost six cents to $4.35.

Over the weekend, Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney spoke to a the Western Hemisphere finance ministers yearly meeting. He said sustained growth from emerging economies means high commodity prices are expected to stick around for a long time.

Meanwhile, a federal election was called for May 2. Traders don’t expect the federal election to have an effect on the market or the loonie. For one thing, polls show the Conservatives have a very good chance of forming the next government.

The next scheduled announcement on interest rates from the Bank of Canada is April 12 and the central bank wasn’t expected to move on raising rates from one per cent. The election will likely be settled by the time of the next announcement May 31.

The Canadian dollar could find lift later this week as traders get the latest look at economic growth on Thursday when Statistics Canada releases gross domestic product figures for January. Economists expect the economy grew by 0.5 per cent, the same as the previous month. Such a move up would be the fourth straight month of accelerating activity.